Sunday Salon – Birthday Books

Published on by Margaret
Sunday Salon

We’ve been away from home again for a few days. This time it was to Stratford to celebrate my birthday by going to see the RSC’s Julius Caesar at The Courtyard Theatre. I finished re-reading the play just before we went to Stratford. I enjoyed it, but not as much as other performances I’ve seen. More about the play in a future post.

Stratford was packed – with bikers as well as the usual tourists – a constant whine and roar of their engines as they seemed to spend the days and evenings circling the town. We have visited Stratford many times but this time we did the tourist thing and visited Shakespeare’s Birth Place and other houses connected to him and his family – more about that in a future post.

I always love books as birthday presents and was lucky enough to be given this pile this year. I just wish I could read them all at once:

  • Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I’ve been reading about this one and it was high on my wish list.
  • Jane Austen’s Letters collected and edited by Deirdre Le Feye – another book I’ve been coveting for a while.
  • The Rebecca Notebook & Other Memories by Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca is one of my favourite books and this book begins with Du Maurier’s thoughts on writing it with an alternative Epilogue.
  • The Children’s Book by A S Byatt. How could I not want this book – other bloggers have been giving it such praise!
  • The Cleansing by Bill Rogers. I’d actually forgotten this was on my wishlist, but I’m so glad D bought it for me. I’ve started to read it and so far I think it’s very good. Set in Manchester, it’s a murder mystery well grounded in police procedure. DCI Tom Caton leads the Specialist Detection Group investigating a very messy case involving a killer dressed as a clown.
  • Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser. I’m particularly drawn to historical biography and especially Mary Queen of Scots, so I’m looking forward to this one.
  • Death of a Chief by Douglas Watt. This looks excellent – a surprise present from my son. From the back cover: “The year is 1686. Sir Lachlan MacLean, chief of a proud but poverty-stricken Highland clan, has met with a macabre death in his Edinburgh lodgings. … Death of a Chief is set in pre-Englightenment Scotland – a long time before police detectives existed.”
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24 thoughts on “Sunday Salon – Birthday Books”

  3. Belated Happy Birthday! what a great way to celebrate. Love your pile of books. Looking forward to the reviews. ‘Wolf Hall’ was fantastic, imho.

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  4. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy ‘Julius Caesar’ so much. I’m going to be very interested to read your more detailed post. I kept out of Stratford this weekend knowing that the Bulldog Bash was on. Not there is ever any trouble with the bikers, but it does make things very crowded. Did you stay over or just go for the day?

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  5. Debnance, I didn’t know it wasn’t out in America!
    Bostonredsoxforever – thank you.
    Mog, thank you – yours was one of the reviews I read that convinced me to read Wolf Hall.
    TT – I enjoyed seeing (if not hearing!) the bikers – there was no trouble (that I knew of anyway)! We stayed a few days – went to the theatre on Thursday evening in the rain. Fortunately the weather improved after that – summer returned and we had a great time. I had mixed feelings about the play – some good parts and others not so good.

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  6. Happy Belated Birthday! I picked up a copy of Jane Austen’s Letters at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath last summer. Have had fun reading a few at a time. Enjoy your books!

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  8. Happy, happy birthday! Sounds as if you had a good one. And I envy you that copy of Wolf Hall. But maybe not that trip for Julius Caesar. Seen it twice, and did not feel a thrill either time. But the setting was great I am sure, and summer is the time for Shakespeare I have always thought.

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  11. Happy belated birthday! I’ll be interested to hear waht you think of Wolf Hall and The Children’s Book.

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  12. Books are the best birthday gifts! At least, I’ve always thought so. I’m another one who’s having a hard time waiting for the Byatt book to show up in the US. I’ll be interested to see what you think of it.

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  13. Happy Birthday Margaret! Sounds like your birthday was a success. Can’t wait to read about your experiences. That is a nice list of books you were given. Some of them are going to my wish list for sure.

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  16. A belated Happy Birthday. Sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate. I agree there is no better gift than a book on your wish list.

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  18. Belated Happy Birthday, Margaret. Haven’t been to Stratford in years but even back then it was heaving. We liked the Mary Arden (think that’s the name) house best of all. Wonderful book haul!

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  19. Happy belated birthday! Great book bounty….
    I loved Mary Queen of Scots although it’s been many years since I’ve read it. As for The Children’s Book, it doesn’t come out in the States until October, I believe, but I’m going to get my hands on a copy when I’m in London for a few days at the end of this month. I hope it lives up to my (very high) expectations!
    Best,
    Karen

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